Thank you, Jonathan Easton

THE MAURITIUS CINEMA WEEK

The Mauritius Cinema Week will be held from the Thursday 5th to Sunday 8th October 2017 in the context of the celebration of the 50 years of independence of the Republic of Mauritius, running up to the 50th anniversary on 12th March 2018.

During this most special of years, one of the areas the Government of Mauritius wishes to champion and build awareness and support for are the creative industries on the island. This event is the start of an annual event based on the themes of “Love” and “Romance” developed to tie in with Mauritius’ position and reputation around the world.

This event shall showcase international films, old and new, from around the world that champion the core elements of “freedom” and “independence”. This includes the freedom and independence of individuals and their spirit and dreams as much as freedom and independence of a people or a country.

High-profile guests from India, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa will be present for the event.

The event will also be graced by a glittering ceremony to honour high-profile practitioners of World Cinema for their outstanding contributions to the film industry.

As part of the Cinema Week, the Mauritian population will be given the opportunity to watch great international films on “freedom” and “independence” on the big screen that remind us of the people and stories that should never be forgotten. This event shall also give the audience the unique opportunity to watch significant classic films that have been shot in Mauritius in different cinemas on the island.

THE HIDDEN MEANING BEHIND THE LOGO

The logo of the Mauritius Cinema Week has been inspired from the famous novel “Paul et Virginie” written by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, a French writer and botanist.

The two characters in the novel, Paul and Virginie, are friends since birth who fall in love with each other. Set on the island of Mauritius under the French rule, the story gives a perfect description of equality of social relations on Mauritius, where the inhabitants live in harmony, without violence or unrest. The story also emphasises on the emancipation of slaves, whose work are very much appreciated by Paul and Virginie in the novel.

The logo based on “Paul et Virginie” is the ideal blend between ‘freedom and independence’ and ‘love and romance’. In The French Revolution: A History, Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish writer and historian, wrote: “[‘Paul et Virginie’ is a novel in which] there rises melodiously, as it were, the wail of a moribund world: everywhere wholesome Nature in unequal conflict with diseased, perfidious art; cannot escape from it in the lowest hut, in the remotest island of the sea.”

VISION

Build awareness and support to the emerging creative industries

CORE VALUES

Independence, Freedom, Creativity, Innovation, Unity

OBJECTIVES

Promote business linkages and development of the film industry

Create a forum to encourage linkages between local and international film producers

Stimulate, popularise and give a spot light to the young local film industry

Market the incentives under the Film Rebate Scheme

Position Mauritius as an attractive shooting destination in the region